Power conservation is very important in portable devices. It is thus advantageous for a portable device to consume as little power as possible. To minimize power consumption, conventional devices enter a reduced-power state or “sleep mode” after a defined period of inactivity. For example, the defined period of inactivity can be 5 minutes, or 10 minutes. This defined period can be set by the user.
A problem with this conventional solution is that a device typically remains on at full power for longer than is necessary, since it is unknown when the user actually quit using the device. For example, if the defined period of inactivity is 10 minutes and the user stops using the device, the device will remain on at full power for 10 minutes.
Generally, there is not a good solution to this problem today in that the known solutions do not minimize power according to actual inactivity.
Accordingly, what is needed is an improved system and method for conserving power in an electronic device. The system and method should be able to accurately manage power consumption, and should be simple, cost effective, and capable of being easily adapted to existing technology. The present invention addresses such a need.